Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Deadlands Fun

So life has been getting more and more fun in the Deadlands:Reloaded game in which I am currently playing a huckster (a sort of card-playing magician) by the unlikely name of Beauregard Tucks.

So much so that I decided to dress the part, at least from the waist up (no-one can see the legs while we are seated at the table). So I augmented my fake Stetson with an inexpensive tuxedo waistcoat, a fancy shirt, a western-style bow tie and a "fan of aces" set of cufflinks. This outfit drew admiring comments from the other players with the exception of Jeff, who regards such shenanigans as unnecessary hi-jinks and game distractions.

For the longest time now I've been theming my dice for the milieu I'm gaming in, with my go-to Deadlands dice of choice being either the two tone copper/black and copper/green set or the steel and green,blue or copper set. These evoke the mineral nuggets the NPCs were grubbing for during "Coffin Rock" (possibly the best value for RPG dollars I've ever added to my library and highly recommended to all Deadlands GMs as a source of hours of fun). The look of he dice adds an indefinable element to the ambience that helps me get in the mood.

Adding the "Stetson" - discovered in January in a gas station store on the way back from Florida and actually made from a hard but flexible plastic shell covered with some sort of textured flock rather than felt, and very comfy to wear - was an obvious step after reading the Cattlepunk episodes of the Knights of the Dinner Table. I discovered that wearing it helped me focus on being a character in an imaginary western setting rather than a player at a table in New York.

And so the extra bits and bobs. And it worked great. When I fiddled with my ridiculously cheap Steampunk fob watch I was doing so as Beauregard Tucks, hard-gamblin' master of matters arcane, set by fate upon a path to death or glory, most likely both, not as Stevie, timid and aging no-account computer botherer and captain of all things sad.

I've no doubt that this effort will precipitate events in which Beauregard Tucks will be shot into mincemeat, rendering the whole wardrobe effort moot. Given the current state of Jim Dandy (Jeff) it is highly likely that Beau's demise will come at the hands of - or because of the treachery of - Jim Dandy. This time at least Jeff will have a plausible excuse for his character's lack of loyalty, what with him being not entirely in control of his life any more on account of him being harrowed (undead and hag-ridden by a demon about sums it up).

But by the pricking of my thumbs it is a rip-roaring experience, the best RPG-as-a-player one I've had in memory.

Resources:

Black/Copper dice at Chessex
Green/Copper dice at Chessex
Steel/Copper dice at Chessex
Steel/Blue dice at Chessex

Deadlands:Reloaded at PEG
Savage Worlds at PEG

To play Deadlands:Reloaded you'll need a copy of The Savage Worlds core rules and a copy of the Deadlands:Reloaded Player Guide. To *run* Deadlands:Reloaded you'll need to add a copy of the Deadlands:Reloaded Marshal's Handbook. Adventures run the gamut from free "one page" affairs to quite costly (but still reasonably priced for what you get) campaigns of linked "plot point" adventures and stand alone encounters. All available in comparably reasonably priced PDF form.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

For The Tainted

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three hellish chants,
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Four blasph'mous tomes,
Three hellish chants,
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Five Squamous Thynges,
Four blasph'mous tomes,
Three hellish chants,
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Six Leng-ground lenses,
Five Squamous Thynges,
Four blasph'mous tomes,
Three hellish chants,
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,
Six Leng-ground lenses,
Five Squamous Thynges,
Four blasph'mous tomes,
Three hellish chants,
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eight runes from R'lyeh,
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,
Six Leng-ground lenses,
Five Squamous Thynges,
Four blasph'mous tomes,
Three hellish chants,
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Nine servile shoggths,
Eight runes from R'lyeh,
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,
Six Leng-ground lenses,
Five Squamous Thynges,
Four blasph'mous tomes,
Three hellish chants,
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Ten Tcho-Tcho rituals
Nine servile shoggths,
Eight runes from R'lyeh,
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,
Six Leng-ground lenses,
Five Squamous Thynges,
Four blasph'mous tomes,
Three hellish chants,
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eleven cultist henchmen,
Ten Tcho-Tcho rituals
Nine servile shoggths,
Eight runes from R'lyeh,
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,
Six Leng-ground lenses,
Five Squamous Thynges,
Four blasph'mous tomes,
Three hellish chants,
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Twelve Brides of Dagon,
Eleven cultist henchmen,
Ten Tcho-Tcho rituals
Nine servile shoggths,
Eight runes from R'lyeh,
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,
Six Leng-ground lenses,
Five Squamous Thynges,
Four blasph'mous tomes,
Three hellish chants,
Two yellow signs
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!